


Sick

by Steveuschrist



Series: John and His Bat [9]
Category: Batman: The Telltale Series (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Ending, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Batsy the Catsy, Bruce takes care of him, Dorks in Love, John is sick, M/M, No One Killed Anyone, Post-Episode 5, The Enemy Within, feelsbadman, vigilante ending
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-06
Updated: 2018-05-06
Packaged: 2019-05-02 21:07:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,341
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14553540
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Steveuschrist/pseuds/Steveuschrist
Summary: John wakes up with the flu.





	Sick

John groaned softly. Today was not his day. This week was not his week.

He hadn’t been sick in a very long time. He was sure he’d gotten sick before Arkham, and knew about colds, but he’d never remembered getting one. 

He had been feeling a bit under the weather one night, but he thought he was just tired. A good night’s sleep would fix it, right?

John was terribly wrong. He woke up the next morning feeling utterly terrible. He sat up and instantly was dizzy. His head felt like it was full of cotton, like when he was on heavy drugs back in Arkham. He tried to get out of bed, but almost fell down. Luckily he caught himself and sat back down on the bed. He began to cough, but quickly recovered.

He ached all over, and knew it couldn’t be from going out on patrol. He was never sore like this. Batsy got up from his place on the bed and rubbed against John’s arm. 

“Not doin’ too well, Batsy.” John told the little creature. “Was I drugged? Was Bruce drugged?” He leaned over to Bruce, his head spinning a little, and gently shook his shoulder. “Bruuuuuuce…”

There was a soft grumble from his love. “Mmm… what..?”

“I think I was drugged. You may have been drugged, too!” John winced at his voice, it hurt his head.

Bruce sat up and turned to him, blinking sleepily at him. “What? Drugged..?”

“My head is killing me. And my body feels like crap. I feel like crap!” John stated, head pounding. “Are you feeling anything like that?”

Bruce blinked at him, eyes focusing. “No, I feel fine… John.. you don’t look too good, babe.” He pressed his head against John’s forehead. “Geez, you’re burning. You must be sick.” He raised his other hand and began to press gently against John’s head and neck, checking for swelling. “Fever, body aches-”

“How can I have a fever if I feel cold?” John asked softly. 

“Looks like flu… A fever is your body trying to fight off the illness.” Bruce said, worry crossing his face. He didn’t even know if John could get sick. He seemed like he couldn’t, which only made Bruce worry more. “Your cells fight off the bacteria, or whatever it is. Your body becomes hot to help drive out the bacteria. You follow?”

John nodded, and that action alone made him wince. He coughed again, lifting up his arm to cover his face. 

“Stay in bed.” Bruce said, brushed John’s hair from his face. “You need rest. I’ll get you meds.” 

John went to hug him, but he pulled away, suddenly remembering something. “Am I.. contagious?” 

“I… yeah.” Bruce replied softly. “You can still hug me, though. I don’t mind.”

“No, no.” John insisted quickly. “I can’t.. I can’t get you sick, too.” 

Bruce hummed softly, then nodded. He cupped John’s cheek before getting up, and John did as he was told, lying back on the bed. 

***

The next day, John had expected to wake up completely fine, already healed. He had relocated to a guest room, agreeing with Bruce that it would be best. He still disliked it. Waking up without Bruce was hard, but his body aches and stuffy head just added to the stress. 

When Bruce came in with a tray of things for John, the green-haired man sat up eagerly, and was about to run up to Bruce to hug him, but he was stopped by the pounding in his head. 

Bruce placed the tray on the bedside table and sat down next to John. “Hey..” 

“Bruuuuce, I’m not doing any better.” John whined. “I’m doing worse, if anything! Everything feels so bad.” 

Bruce’s eyes drifted over to Batsy who was stretching next to John. Batsy stepped over to Bruce and rubbed against his side. “I know, I’m sorry. Usually it takes at least two days for you to start feeling better.”

John groaned. “This sucks!. I can’t go out. I can barely sit up. I feel like crap. Is this normal?”

Bruce rubbed Batsy’s chin, looking over John carefully. “Normal for flu, yeah.”

“Do you ever get it?”

“I’ve gotten it before. It’s been a while. I had it really really bad when I was a kid at one point.” Bruce replied. His expression from worry to something that John couldn’t pinpoint. “My.. parents took care of me really well. My mother, mostly.” 

John had grabbed the tea Bruce brought him and sipped it. “I can’t really imagine you ever getting sick.”

Bruce chuckled. “Well, I didn’t even know if you could get sick. I figured with your years in Arkham..” His brow furrowed together and he trailed off, lowering his gaze. 

John gave him a sad smile. “Figured that my genes were somehow altered at least somewhat?” Bruce looked back at him and gave a small nod. He didn’t like to think about John being experimented on, but it was always in the back of his mind.

“Bruce. We both know that they did stuff to me.” John said softly. “I mean, I know when you asked about my hair at Riddler’s place, I told you I figured it was natural. But.. that was also the conversation where I made up reasons for why I liked Harley.”

Bruce let out a breath he’d been holding in. “I just.. I know you don’t like drawing attention to it. In a negative way, I mean.”

John giggled softly, which turned into a coughing fit. He recovered after a few seconds and cleared his throat. “What I’m trying to say is, part of me has always known that I didn’t always look like this. I’ve always known that Arkham drugged me a lot before I remember waking up for the first time. That’s probably part of how I lost my memory.” He laughed lightly. “Brain can only take so much.” 

Batsy had settled on Bruce’s lap and was purring happily. Bruce petted him, getting lost in thought. He’d only been drugged one time, when Lady Arkham had done it. He didn’t even remember what happened. It was so different from John. John had been experimented on at Arkham, Bruce knew for sure, but they kept that stuff off the official files. His mind began to wander to darker places, as it usually did. What if John had been experimented on before Arkham? What if he was tortured and had his brain fried, which led to him being tossed into Arkham without care?

“Bruce?”

John sounded far away. Bruce looked up at him, and their eyes met. “I won’t let someone do that to you again. Never again.” 

John sipped his tea and reached over, patting Bruce’s hand. “Bruce. It’s ok. I don’t even remember it. 

“That doesn’t make it alright.” Bruce sighed. “It still happened.” 

“You said it yourself.” He looked over to the tray. “It won’t happen again.”

John took a piece of bacon off of the plate on the tray and he bit into it. “I’m not going anywhere.” 

Bruce was about to respond, but John cut him off. Bruce looked exhausted. More exhausted than usual. “Hey. You should get some sleep. Don’t worry about me being sick.”

Bruce huffed. “I’m… I always worry about you. No matter what.”

John finished the bacon and took his medicine. “Please. Go take a nap. I want you to stay in tonight, but… I know it's unlikely. At least nap.” 

Batsy meowed in agreement, and John sipped his tea again. “Batsy agrees. It’s 2-1, Bruce.” 

Bruce let out a soft sigh, before a small smile crossed his face. John was right. He had been so worried about John, and the stress of doing patrol alone showed, even if it was just one night. He felt so exposed without John watching his back. “Make that 3-0.”

Bruce stood before going to the other side of the bed and lying down next to John, on top of the covers. John looked him over again. 

It was close to noon, but Bruce hadn't even changed out of his sleeping clothes. His hair wasn't absolute perfection as it normally was, and John could tell his facial hair was just ever so slightly more visible. Little things like that told him that Bruce wasn't doing amazing. 

“I hope you don't mind.” Bruce asked softly, glancing up at John. John shook his head. 

“It's your house, Bruce.” 

“It's our house.” Bruce replied, his voice dropping slightly. “And you're sick. I don't wanna intrude.” 

John gave him one look and Bruce decided not to push any further. Batsy promptly settled on Bruce’s stomach and began to purr loudly. John sipped his tea again, and watched as the tension in Bruce’s shoulders fell. Bruce worked too hard. 

John felt guilt pass over him. How could he be so stupid, getting sick like this? Now Bruce had to worry about him more than usual and was out by himself on patrol. Sure, he had Tiffany, but her drones could only do so much. They didn’t cover up for John’s absence. 

He sat in silence, watching the rise and fall of Bruce’s chest. That stupid t-shirt stuck in all the right places.

He dozed off for a couple of hours, only to wake up in a sweat. He groaned and heaved himself up into a sitting position, and realized that Bruce was still fast asleep. He also heard rain, which wasn’t too uncommon for Gotham.

He turned his gaze to the window, his eyes widening in surprise as the Batsignal appeared in the sky. It wasn’t used that much in recent weeks, as the GCPD had grown stronger and didn’t need to continuously call on Batman for help. If they were calling him now, something big must’ve happened. 

John let out a sniff, and then a sneeze. It was loud, even though he’d muffled it with his arm. He reached over and nudge Bruce’s shoulder. “Bruce.. Hey, Bruce..” 

Bruce let out a soft groan and shifted, which made Batsy get off of him. He slowly sat up, and his hair was close to the typical bedhead John was accustomed to seeing when he woke up. “Yeah..? You need something?” 

John nodded towards the window. “Not me. I.. you’re doing a lot for me, Bruce. Napping in here in case I need to wake you up if I need something, bringing me food, getting me meds..” Bruce glanced out the window, then at John. 

“But I’m just one man. And even though I’m sick, clearly a lot more people need your help right now than I do.” 

Bruce gave him a small nod, the corners of his mouth tugging up ever so slightly. “I’ll be back as soon as I can.” 

John sat back and watched him go, giving him a wave right before he shut the door. His love was off, off to save Gotham and maybe even the world. 

***

When Bruce returned he wasn’t surprised to find John curled up on the bed, watching the news on his phone. “Oooh babe, you’re on!” John grinned and waved him over. 

Bruce sat down next to him and John sat up slowly, holding out his phone a bit more. “They got actual footage of you!” 

“That’s what happens when the criminals go after a news station.” Bruce replied. Employees at the station had hid under desks during the fight, so while the view wasn’t the best, it got the point across. 

“You look so cool.” John grinned. That was Bruce- his Bruce- fighting those guys. The coverage cut to Gordon, talking about how the threat wouldn’t have been neutralized without Batman’s help. 

“Recently the GCPD has been better at keeping lower crimes at lower rates. It’s nice to know that Batman will still answer our calls when we need help.” 

“Yeah, you tell ‘em, Jim!” John punched the air. “Every day more and more people like Batman, Bruce! You’re a hero!” 

Bruce looked over at him. “Hey, you are too. People are starting to warm up to us.” 

John gasped. “Do you think if we allowed interviews then people would like us more? Get more personal??”

Bruce let out a soft huff. “Then people could easily find out our identities, especially yours.” Bruce already knew that Gotham wasn’t overly accepting of John considering his time as The Agency’s number one most wanted, even though he’d been cleared of charges once they brought Waller down. And while John didn’t talk too much while being Joker in front of others, just one slight raise of his voice and certainly GCPD officers would be able to put two and two together. 

“Over the phone, then! With voice modifiers!” John got a far away look in his eyes, as thoughts of being able to gush about Batman as Joker made his heart flutter. 

“I can’t risk that.” Bruce said softly, and John instantly shut up. Bruce was right. They really couldn’t. 

“I know... But I can dream!” John replied. His enthusiasm earned him another coughing fit. 

Bruce couldn’t help but smile softly “One day, maybe. But not any time soon.” 

John turned off the coverage and breathed a sigh. “Tonight when you go out… be careful, alright?” Bruce chuckled softly. 

“I will be. Not having my partner out there with me is.. it’s different. But you’re sick and need to recover.” 

John patted Bruce’s shoulder lightly. “I’ll be back out there with you in no time! Just wait! I’d… I’d pinky promise you, but… you know.” 

Bruce gave him another smile. “I do, don’t worry. I’m gonna go take care of some things. I’ll stop by before I go out again.”

John gave a quick nod, and Bruce kissed his forehead before getting up. When Bruce was gone, John lay back down. He was already starting to feel at least a little bit better, and was sure he’d be able to get back out into the field the next day. In the end, the city really did need both of them.

**Author's Note:**

> I had to write a sickfic. I just had to. Next is probably more Dark Bruce and/or Dark John. Those fics were seriously fun to write. Thanks so much for reading, and as always don't be afraid to comment if you have anything to say! I don't bite. I promise.


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